Atari aiming to scare you in 2014

02 September 2014

By Graham Ziervogel

Atari has revealed two upcoming horror games at PAX 2014, both of which they describe as “terrifying survival-action horror experience[s]”. The first is a remake of the classic 1992 game Alone in the Dark, titled Alone in the Dark: Illumination, and will add online and cooperative play to the famous series. The second is ALSO a re-imagining of an older Atari series called Haunted House (the original debuted in 1982). Titled Haunted House: Cryptic Graves, it aims to frighten some poo out of you [… O_O – Ed.] while making you solve puzzles and use psychic powers to solve different challenges. So, Atari has reached into their (fairly large) bag of classic titles from the previous millennium, grabbed a couple of franchises and are attempting to breathe some new life into them. Hit the jump to see how they’ve managed so far.

The biggest addition to the new Alonein the Dark game is “the power of illumination” – a cooperative mode with different hero characters for players to use. While this is a significant shift away from the usual formula of many enemies hiding in dark places waiting to kill you, the game’s website still proudly boasts of its roots in H.P. Lovecraft’s writing. Dynamic environments, achievements, and other online bonuses aim to keep the game fresh and relevant.

Much less is known about the new Haunted House game, but it will be a first-person puzzler which requires players to figure out numerous riddles and problems whilst attempting to solve an overarching mystery that the story builds towards. It is being developed by Italian studio Dreampainters, creators of PC horror game Anna.

Neither game looks particularly inspiring in my opinion, but time will tell and classic horror game fans are no doubt squealing in delight. Both games are expected to be released before the end of 2014.